A Ness-essity
by Psybreon
Summary: After the death of Hinawa, Lucas and what's left of his family decide to move to a new place to start fresh. But what happens when Lucas ends up going to a new school, and discovers he has strange powers that he gains more and more of each month? Can he keep a secret, while coping with school, the death of his mother, and possible love? Ness x Lucas and Claus x Ninten on the side.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so I know that no one likes author's notes and just wants to get to reading the fics, but a few things you should know:**

 **1\. This is my first fanfic.**

 **2\. This is my first time writing anything involving romance.**

 **3\. Reviews, favorites, and follows are appreciated. Especially reviews. owo**

 **4\. I tend to use smilies a lot, especially owo (not in the fics though, unless it's a computer chat or text!)**

 **5\. This will probably contain spoilers for Mother 3 and Earthbound, so if you haven't played through, I recommend you do, but you don't have to. I'll put a warning in the authors notes if there are, and before the spoiler. If you see one asterisk (*), it's a minor spoiler. If you see two, (**) it's a medium spoiler. If you see three, (***) it's big. If you see four, (****) it spoils a huge thing in the game, and you should probably skip that. If you see one by the chapter name, you might as well skip the whole chapter.**

 **6\. This is slight AU, so some things are the same, but others aren't. You'll see.**

 **7\. Thoughts will be in italics, animal speech will be in bold, read thoughts will be in italics with quotes, and telepathy will be bold with italics and quotes.**

 **i.e** _I really don't wanna go to school today..._

 **"Arf! Gotta catch that frisbee!"**

 _"I really hope no one's reading my mind now..."_

 _ **"Hey Lucas, you can hear me, right?"**_

 **Alright, I'm sure that was boring to read. So, without further ado, onto the first chapter!**

Two boys were outside at their grandfather, Alec's, house. One had red hair, while the other had blonde. They both wore similar clothes, one wearing a red and yellow striped shirt while the other donned a green and yellow one. They both had vibrant and colorful eyes, the blonde having shy blue ones and the other having green ones that shined with mischief. It wasn't too hot or too cold, and it didn't look like it would rain either. The few clouds in the sky were fluffy and white, and if you looked close enough you could almost see shapes that would paint a story, as their mother would say.

Speaking of their mother, she watched with amusement as they chased each other around in the grass, startling a few of the animals. "Rawr, I'm a dragos! I'm going to eat you for dinner, just like an omelet! Actually, maybe I _will_ make you into an omelet!"

"That's no fair, dragos are supposed to be nice! Besides, I don't think they eat omelets...! And how could they make one with those tiny arms...?" The shyer one, Lucas, responded, stopping whenever he started overthinking things, which in turn, made his brother run into him and caused them to both topple over and Lucas to whine. "Claus, get off! That hurt..." he pouted. "Hey, you're the one that stopped, it's your fault! Besides..." Claus started, stopping to smirk mischievously, "Why would I let a chance like this go?"

"Claus..." Lucas said, worried of what he might do. The other just grinned and started tickling him mercilessly, causing Lucas to start laughing hysterically. Eventually it started getting late after a few hours of play, the sunset turning the sky multiple shades of pink, purple, and orange. "Boys, it's time to come in!" their mother, Hinawa, called. "Aww, we were just getting to the fun part!" whined Claus, but went inside anyways, knowing it was for the best.

After dinner and getting cleaned up, everyone went to bed. Lucas had a peaceful, dreamless sleep, until... "Lucas! Wake up, son!" Being a light sleeper, he woke up fairly quickly. He looked around, realizing he was not at his grandpa's house, but actually at home. He sighed, realizing he'd had a dream about that day again. He turned to face the one who had woke him up, although he already knew who it was. "I'm up, dad." He stated, although a bit groggily.

"Good, now could y'help me get your dagnabbed brother up? Y'know that boy'd sleep through a darned twister tornado if there ever was one, and you know today's important." The man said seemingly ticked off, but Lucas had known him long enough to know that he was actually amused, and there was maybe a little bit of affection mixed in, too.

"Sure, dad." Lucas grinned a bit, still sleepy. Flint got up and went to Claus's room, which happened to be next to his. Flint took out a glass of water Lucas hadn't noticed before, and motioned for him to be silent. Grinning, he counted down, mouthing it out.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One!" he said this one out loud, pouring the water over his once-peacefully sleeping brother's head, who yelled out in surprise. "Jeez, I'm up! You didn't have to go and pour water all over me! I never asked for a shower!" He said angrily. Lucas stifled a bit of laughter, his brother's bed-head mixed with the water looked kind of comical.

"You were gonna take'un anyways. 'Sides, yi'd never've gotten up anyways. I know 'ow ya are, boy." Flint stated as if it was a fact. Claus huffed and went to take a shower since he was already wet, crossing his arms on his way there. At this point Lucas was hardly keeping back his giggles, covering his mouth with one hand. After recovering a bit, he remembered why they'd woken up so early in the morning. "Where are we going again, dad?"

"It's called Onett, son. It's all th'way in a place called Eagleland, so we've gotta take an airplane." He answered, showing him the plane tickets he'd bought for them. ... There were only three, though, plus a special one for Boney. He'd expected this, of course, but his face still noticeably fell, no matter how hard he'd tried to hide it from his father.

Flint saw this and frowned. He sighed, knowing how Lucas had never really gotten over it, even after all this time. Neither had he, really, but he tried his best not to show it as not to upset his sons. Being a tall man, and his son short for his age, he bent down to ruffle Lucas's hair. "It'll be okay, son. I know it'll be hard without your mother 'round, but we'll have t' do our best. After all, t's what what she would've wanted."

Lucas nodded a bit, letting a small, somewhat reluctant smile cross his face.

Changing the subject, "Why were we going? How long will it take?" he asked. "I'm going b'cause it has to do with business, s'posedly there are better job opportunities there, and we both know we need that." Flint smiled, glad the subject had changed and that his son seemed happy again.

"There's no sayin' for sure, but it'll probably take a few hours considering 't's in another country." Lucas's eyes widened a bit. "Another country? You never mentioned that before..." "Oh, I didn't? Ahah, how silly 'f me... Must've not crossed my mind b'fore..." He grinned sheepishly, fiddling with the brim of his hat, a habit of his when he was nervous or made a mistake.

Claus came out of the bathroom, with his usual outfit and hair. He was less grumpy than before, but Lucas knew better than to mention it. He sighed and went to get ready, glad he'd packed last night. Shutting the door behind him to take a shower, he groaned. This was going to be a long trip.

 **Hope that was good! To be honest, I'm just going with the flow here, I don't have too much planned out xD Next chapter will be in Lucas's point of view, first person. ... Probably. Maybe. Anyways, I've got the next chapter planned out for the most part, but hopefully I remember to write it. I would write it now, but it's 1:22 AM and I have tests tomorrow. All through this week, actually. Since this is my first fanfic, I'd like some reviews and/or constructive criticism, but of course I don't expect it right away. Anyways, I've been meaning to write something for a while now, but I've been reluctant since I didn't have many ideas. Honestly this is a bit of a spur-of-the-moment type thing, because I've been obsessed with Mother and Ness x Lucas here lately, and noticed that there weren't enough (imo) fics about Ness x Lucas. I hope this goes well and that I remember to update. xD Ooh, and I do plan on some Claus x Ninten on the side, too. Also try to keep in mind this will be my first time writing romance, so tips are appreciated if I ever have trouble ;; And I decided to skip the ride there to save some time for both of us. It would've been boring anyways xD And by the way, I haven't made the summary yet, so I don't know what I'll put in it, but Lucas hasn't found out he has psychic abilities yet. Neither has Claus. And Ness and Ninten... Well, that's a surprise, so you'll just have to find out! Anyways, I should sleep now. Hope you guys enjoyed, bye! owo Also, sorry for the shortness xD Oh, and the name's not final. I couldn't think of anything, so I resorted to puns. /shot**


	2. Chapter 2

I looked around, almost wanting to kiss the ground from the _extremely, ridiculously long-_ okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit- flight that I'd just gotten off of, grateful to be on solid, stable land. I wouldn't tell anyone, but I had a _teeny-tiny, microscopic, barely there_ fear of heights. I knew it wouldn't help any, but I couldn't help but look out the window of the plane, seeing the ground which was who-knows-how-many miles away, driving my paranoia further. I shuddered just thinking about it. I was shaken out of my thoughts by a sudden, intense, headache. I yelped in pain and clutched my head, my ears even ringing a bit, and my vision blurred.

It went away as suddenly and quickly as it had come, though, thankfully. My vision slowly became less blurry and my ears stopped ringing. I sighed in relief, too busy trying to recover to think about what it was all about in the first place. After a bit, I looked around, trying to see if anyone had noticed what happened, but it seemed like they were too busy with the luggage. Either that or they had heard me and figured it was just me being the usual klutz that I am.

I was kind of thankful for that, though, because I didn't want anyone to be worried, especially when they already had to deal with moving to a new place fairly unexpectedly. Aside from that, we got out of the airport without anything very eventful happening, and we stopped by to pick Boney up from his own little flight. I hope he wasn't too scared on his way here, because he seemed to have a fear of heights, just like me. How we figured that out, well... That's a long story.

The car was being shipped by boat, so we'd have to wait a few days before it'd get here. Luckily enough, the airport actually happened to be in the town we were going to be living in, so other than having to walk to get to places or go by taxi, it was fine. "'Sides," Dad had said, "T'll help ya get used t' th' place." It was inconvenient, but I guess I had to agree with him. So we took a taxi home that day, eventually stopping at a point where we were fairly close and walking the rest of the way. I hadn't seen the house yet, but I think I remember dad had said something about it being nicer than our old one.

And it was. It wasn't anything too special, but it was bigger than our old one, being a fairly nice two-story that even had a game room, according to Dad. Of course, for now it was unfurnished other than the few things that were built in, like a bar in the kitchen or one of those bench things on the windows that doubled as storage. There were some boxes inside, as the moving truck had apparently gotten there and gotten all of the boxes moved shortly before we had gotten there. We moved a few things, mainly the table to eat at and a few places to sit here and there, but we saved the more difficult things for later.

We had to sleep in sleeping bags that night, and it was predictably fairly uncomfortable, but I'd live. I fell asleep pretty quickly aside from that, thankfully having a dream that wasn't about Mom for once. We got mostly everything moved and settled in the span of the next few days, and taking the remainder of the week to rest and get situated, going out here and there to get used to the layout of the town, or at least where the school was plus whatever was nearby.

Claus and I had to go to school the next week, being 2 weeks late to the start of the new school year. My dad, however, had to start work, in place of school. I woke up that morning to the very annoying and familiar sound of my alarm clock, a chirp. It was a sparrow-shaped alarm clock, the strangest thing about it being that it would give you different advice each morning. "Be prepared for anything, you never know what you'll come across! Keep an eye out! Now to end this with a sparrow-like... Chirp chirp!" It might seem silly, but sometimes I would actually take the advice to heart, as silly as that sounds.

I got dressed, going to brush my teeth. As I walked in the bathroom the first thing I noticed was my terrible bed-head, which was ordinary for me. I grinned a bit, my hair looking so ridiculous you'd think I'd gotten shocked by an electrical outlet. I combed my hair into its usual style with the help of some gel, and once done I went downstairs to eat some breakfast. Predictable, but I ate my favorite food, omelets, for breakfast.

I noticed Claus and Dad weren't there, shortly after hearing some bickering from upstairs. I chuckled, letting an amused grin spread across my face, knowing this was an almost daily thing, school or not. Finishing my omelet, I put my plate in the sink. Eventually, an irritable Claus came down the stairs, along with my amused father.

After everyone ate their breakfast and got ready, Dad parted ways with us, and he took the car while we walked to school. Boney walked with us, because apparently on his little "adventures" he'd learned his way around fairly well, probably getting into a fair amount of trouble while doing so. After a while, I noticed something. There was a tiny voice that I could hear if I listened closely, and the more I listened and latched onto it, the louder it seemed to get. It was hard to tell, but... It seemed to be coming from Boney.

Just to make sure it wasn't Claus messing with me or something, I asked, "... Did you say something?" Claus looked at me confusedly and responded, "No, why?" I shook my head. "... Never mind, I must be hearing things." Claus shrugged and then smirked. "Maybe you ate a bad omelet. Or could you not sleep again last night?" He kept his smirk, but I could hear a tiny bit of concern seep into his voice when mentioning the latter.

"No, I'm fine, just thought you said something. It was probably just the wind." I replied, although doubtfully. He seemed to accept that response. He didn't mention it after that, even though he still seemed a little concerned. Testing my suspicions, I turned to look at Boney, hoping I wasn't crazy. "Hey Boney, you'll be able to make it back to the house, right?" I asked, expecting a bark in response. Which I got, but what I didn't expect was that I'd actually hear a voice accompanying it, translating it into English.

 **"Yep, don't worry about me! I did enough treasure hunting and squirrel chasing to find my way around, so I'll be fine!"** I yelled in surprise at the middle-pitch male voice, apparently startling Claus, who jumped. Boney cocked his head to the side inquisitively. **"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost! But of course, I'd know if there was one since dogs are great at sniffing out those kinds of things, so that can't be it!"** My already pale face had become even paler and my jaw had dropped in shock.

 _... Well, looks like today's the day I finally go crazy... Guess I should've taken the sparrow's advice, huh? Or maybe I'm dreaming, yeah... Hopefully that's it..._

Claus recovered and looked around to see if there was something he was missing, but finding nothing, he looked at me with a face that was half _are-you-crazy_ half _you-have-some-explaining-to-do_ and maybe a dash of concern in there to top it all off. I searched for an excuse, and finding one, I tried it, trying my hardest not to stutter or say something wrong, and forcing myself to look him in the eye. "I just realized I forgot something really important, I forgot my notebook! I gotta go get it, see you at school!" I ran around the corner before he could answer.

He looked bewildered, and he also looked torn between going after me and going to school. He looked at the watch that he rarely wears, but for some reason decided to today, his eyes widening. "Aw crap, I'm gonna be late!" he exclaimed, taking off suddenly. I sighed in relief, hopefully he wouldn't remember this later, but knowing Claus he almost definitely would. I came out from the corner I had been around and decided to hurry the rest of the way there since Claus had seemed to be in such a hurry.

I eventually got there, minutes before the bell rang. Luckily I didn't have to worry about finding my class or any of that, because an announcement came over the intercom. "Lucas and Claus Rethom, please come to the principal's office. You are not in trouble. Thanks." I went to find it, eventually getting there without too much difficulty, considering there was a sign.

Nothing important happened, the principal just gave us our schedules and some directions to our first classes, which, unfortunately for me, I didn't have with Claus. I wasn't very good with people and mainly relied on Claus to start conversations and speak for me sometimes, because otherwise I was too shy. I guess that might as well change this school year, but that's easier said than done. We talked a bit on the way there, quietly, as not to accidentally disturb a class and get in trouble. Eventually we got to a place where our paths forked, so we exchanged a "See you later!" and a "Good luck. You'll need it." with a joking wink from Claus.

With that, we went the rest of our way to our own individual classes, wondering just what would be in store for us when we got there, and thinking, no, _knowing_ that one of us would have a harder time than the other. And considering everything that's happened so far, and the difference between our "luck", it's safe to assume that it'll be none other than... Me.

 **Anyways, hope you all liked that! Sorry for not updating sooner, school, y'know? Also, thanks to LordLenne and Drailman for my first two reviews, glad to know it's good so far! Also, LordLenne, I've read a few of your fics and I have to admit they're partially what inspired me to actually write one myself, haha. So I'm honored to have you review one of my fics! Also, I'd like everyone to let me know, would you prefer more first person stuff like this, third person like in the first chapter, or some of both here and there? I also apologize for anything that might seem off in this chapter, I've stayed up late again to get this done. I also think I have a good idea for another Nesscas fic, but I'll probably get a few more chapters of this done before attempting to try to juggle multiple stories at once, seeing as I'm just now getting back into writing. I also tried to write more than last chapter, and I think I did a fair amount more. Still want to make my chapters even longer, though. Anyways, I should probably go now, bye! Don't forget to leave a review, favorite, or follow, as all of the above are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Swear warning! Only one, though.**

I looked at my newly received schedule that I'd gotten at the principal's office barely minutes ago. _What was my first class again? Right, English. That should be easy enough._ Examining the piece of paper further, it appeared I had Art for 2nd period, which was actually a rare stroke of luck on my part. Then I had Chemistry. _That shouldn't be too bad, as long as I get an okay partner... But everyone knows I'm the luckiest person alive, heh._

Holding my breath, I checked my class before lunch period. Math. I groaned. Of course I had to wait through Math class right before lunch. _I guess it could be worse,_ I thought optimistically for someone with my level of misfortune in seemingly everything.

I finished reading that much by the time I found my classroom. _Alright, all I have to do is hope and pray for a teacher who isn't completely monotone..._ I walked into the classroom reluctantly, seeing that the teacher apparently wasn't there at the moment. The kids I was accompanying the classroom with decided to take advantage of the teacher's absence, whispering (could it really be called that?) rather loudly among themselves, using a colorful array of words to warn the others to be quiet when it was suspected the teacher might be coming. _They must have heard my footsteps, I guess._

All eyes turned towards me, expecting the teacher, possibly accompanied by a familiar scolding that had to be meaningless at this point. I guess they weren't expecting a new kid. I closed the door behind me, wincing when it made a noise louder than I'd intended. I wasn't sure if I should introduce myself or sit down considering the teacher was gone and I might have to do it over again, so I chose the easier option, the latter.

There was only one empty seat, one that seemed to be in between a raven-haired, bandana-wearing boy who looked a little shorter than average and a girl with spiky pink hair and a pendant, who really looked like she wanted to be somewhere else right now. I could have had better options, but then again, I could have worse. I sat down, the dark-haired boy waving to me with a bit of a dorky grin, not seeming like the completely annoying type, but maybe a little shy and awkward, maybe a little hopeful. It makes him seem like he doesn't have many friends, but he seems nice enough.

I smiled back shyly, thankful that someone was at least a little nice. The pink-haired girl didn't do anything, apparently taking more interest in whatever she was looking at. Or at least it seemed that way. Once or twice I saw her look towards me with mild curiosity, probably out of boredom, though. The bandana wearer greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, I'm Ninten. Mrs. I-Don't-Care over there is Kumatora. I'm honestly surprised she's not asleep right now, and now that I think of it, shouldn't she be introducing herself then?" He seemed to ponder the question for a half-second before continuing. "I guess I just got used to introducing her since she was asleep. Anyways, you are?" He smiled goofily, adjusting his red and blue hat a bit.

I blinked because of the odd introduction to his friend, but I smiled anyways. "I'm Lucas. I have a brother named Claus, but we're not in the same class right now. We're twins." "Twins, huh? Lemme guess, total opposites, right?"

I blinked again. "Yeah, how'd you guess?" He shrugged. "Just seems pretty common to me. So are you identical, or...?" I laughed a bit. "Nope, our hair and eye color are completely different. You'll see if you get to see him in another class."

We small-talked until the teacher came back, who gave the class a quick scolding. Not sure anyone actually payed any attention to it, though. She must have noticed me at some point, because she called me up to the front of class. "Class, we have a new student today. His name is Lucas Rethom, and he's from Tazmily, in the Nowhere Islands. At least try and treat the new kid kindly for once, please?" She said the last part almost pleadingly.

Just from her introduction to me, I could already tell this was going to be a _fantastic_ school year. "Anything you'd like to tell us about yourself?" I pondered this for a bit, but not long enough that people would get impatient. "I..." Not thinking of anything important, I shook my head. "... No." "Good, then go sit back down." I did as told, going back to my seat.

I sighed. They must think I'm boring now, not saying anything. Oh well. So the teacher, whom I later learned preferred to be called Ms. Trist, began reading a book to the class which couldn't catch my interest, simply because of the way she read it. _So much for a teacher that isn't monotone_.

She continued to drone on, and no joke, I fell asleep. I was poked awake by Ninten, who probably woke me up because it was my first day and he didn't want me to get in trouble for falling asleep since it would probably make a bad first impression. I'd thank him later, I guess. I looked over to see that Kumatora had fallen asleep and felt a pang of sympathy and perhaps slight envy at how she could get away with sleeping in class. I groaned quietly and put my head on my desk, already wishing I wasn't where I was.

When the bell rang, I don't think I'd been so grateful for such an annoying, shrill sound in a long time. I walked out of class, almost running because of how badly I'd wanted to get out of there. I felt a bit of annoyance at how that had been my first class and it was already really boring. At least I hadn't run into anyone who was too annoying or bad news yet. I guess I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going, because I ran into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin', will ya, runt?" I looked up from my books and whatever else I dropped to see some blonde kid who I wondered how he could see with all of that hair in his eyes. He was wearing suspenders with a white shirt underneath, and he was, well... He was a little chunky, to say the least. He looked like bad news.

 _I jinxed myself, didn't I?_ I thought a little bitterly. He took a few steps toward me. "You're the new kid, aren't ya? The name's Porky, Porky Minch. Ya better not forget it, blondie!" His grimace twisted into a sadistic grin that honestly scared me a bit.

"Because if you do..." He continued, "You'll need a little punishment, eh? I'll make sure to swell up one of those pretty little eyes of yours, and ya might not see it open for a while... If ya even see those eyes of yours open at all!"

By that time I felt my back when it hit one of the lockers. I guess I'd been backing up subconsciously. My eyes darted around nervously to look for a possible escape, but saw none. So when he'd pinned me against the lockers it was no surprise. "I might as well even give ya the official newcomer's initiation!" He raised his fist, and it went rocketing towards my face in what seemed like slow motion.

But at the last second, his direction swerved and he hit the locker to the side of me, even grazing my skin a bit. It made a loud bang that seemed right in my ear, and my ear was ringing after that. It made a significant dent in the locker, and his knuckles were bleeding a bit, but he didn't seem to care. "Psych!" He taunted, walking away as if he hadn't almost pounded my face in.

I rubbed my ringing, hurting ear and sighed. _Looks like I've already run into trouble, and on my first day, too... Literally._

Just then, the bell rang. I cursed under my breath and bent down to pick up my books. "Looks like you ran into Minch, huh? That kid's no good. I'd kick his ass if it weren't for the stupid no violence rule... He's the principal's kid, so he gets away with almost everything." I heard from a voice behind me, and as the source of the voice bent down beside me to help me pick up my books, I saw it was that pink-haired girl from earlier. Kumatora was her name, I think?

We finished picking up my books that I'd dropped and I looked at her gratefully. "Thanks. You're Kumatora, right? Ninten mentioned you earlier." I said, although a bit shyly. "The one and only!" She replied proudly. I grinned a little at her silly answer. "You're that new kid, huh? Lucas, right?" She asked with a rather boyish grin. "Yeah, that's me! I've got a twin brother named Claus too, but we actually look pretty different for the most part."

The bell rang to remind the late people of their tardiness, its irritating shrill scream of a noise seemingly taunting me. My eyes widened just a bit. "Aw, crap... I've gotta get to class, sorry! It was nice talking to you!" I yelled, running off towards where I thought I'd seen the art room earlier. She just stood there and grinned, waving to me. "Same here. See ya later, Stripes!" _C'mon, only an hour in and I already have a stupid nickname?_ I rolled my eyes but I continued to smile nonetheless as I ran to class.

I made it there, huffing and puffing a bit since I'd ran almost the whole way and it was on the other side of the building. Running really wasn't my strong point, or anything to do with physical activity, really. Although I'd always been a little fond of baseball. Claus and I used to play it all the time back in Tazmily, but we lost the bat and couldn't buy a new one, so we'd always use my favorite stick. ... I keep a stick, okay? That's not weird...

I opened the door only to see... A real, live, actual monkey right in front of me. It had a blue collar and was a little chubby. I blinked. Once. Twice. I rubbed my eyes, and it had gone. But then I felt something climb up my leg and then my back. I almost screeched, but held back the rather unmanly outburst, and I knew if Claus were here and I had screeched, he'd be laughing his butt off.

Then the monkey reached my shoulder and decided to stay there, apparently taking a liking to me or something. It honestly reminded me of Ash's Pikachu. ... Not that I watch Pokémon that much, I may like it, but I'm not that big of a fan... After all, I saw enough weird creatures in my later years in Tazmily. Seriously, Slitherhens? As if Mighty Bitey Snakes weren't ridiculous enough by themselves.

A rather irritated-looking man with an odd hat and a mustache snapped me out of my thoughts. "Salsa, down from there!" The monkey, who was apparently named Salsa, jumped down from my shoulder. "I apologize for Salsa's ridiculous behavior, he often startles new students such as you... For now, we're doing a project that requires partners. We're seeing how one art style may differ from the next, and then you'll try and copy your partner's style and vice versa. You'll be partners with Ninten." He grumbled the name as if he disliked the boy. "I'd appreciate it if you called me Mr. Fassad, by the way." I took note of this and began to look for Ninten, noticing that Salsa was following me.

I spotted him, he was near the corner, looking bored and maybe a little anxious. I began to make my way over, but stopped, an idea coming to me suddenly. I listened closely, like I had this morning with Boney. I was right. There was a little voice, and it was coming from Salsa.

I mentally reached for it and latched on to it, which I realized I had done with Boney, too. The moment I grabbed it, it got suddenly louder. It didn't seem to be saying anything in particular, as it was currently jumbled. Still a small victory for me, though. "Salsa?" I tested.

 **"Huh, what is it? I'm surprised you noticed me, petty human, I was in stealth mode."** He said, puffing his tiny chest out. I was still a little shocked and disbelieving that it had worked at first, but I regained my composure and grinned. I picked Salsa up and put him on my shoulder, hoping he could hear me better that way. "Stealth mode, huh?" I asked quietly, as to not get noticed and called crazy for talking to myself and/or a monkey. Salsa looked shocked and almost fell off my shoulder, but I caught him just in time.

I held back some laughter and waited for a response. **"Woah, you can hear me? I knew you were different from the other humans! I take back that petty human stuff, I was just playing around. Still, surprised you caught me in stealth mode, that's quite a feat... I perfected that years ago. You see, it was passed down from my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather to my great-great-grea-"**

I cut him off before he could ramble. "That's cool and all, but I've gotta go see Ninten, since he's my partner. Also, I might not be able to talk to you much, because people will think I'm crazy. Okay?" He nodded in response, still a bit dazed that I could actually understand him. I walked over to where Ninten was standing.

He looked a bit relieved when he saw me. "Thank goodness it's you, I was getting a little worried that Porky or someone would be my partner." He said, explaining why he had been anxious before. "Porky's in this class?" I asked, a little shocked.

"Well, yeah. No one talks to him though, they're all worried they'll get beat up. Porky doesn't seem to care. Still, I feel bad for whoever's his partner." He answered, although a little hushed, as if he was afraid Porky would hear him.

"Hmm, I'll have to remember that... I guess we should start on our project, though, huh?" I changed the subject, seeing how he got a little anxious whenever Porky was mentioned. I had to wonder if he was bullied by him... I felt a little concern towards Ninten and anger towards Porky at this. _I guess I'll have to ask him whenever I get the chance, but I'll have to be careful since things like that can be touchy subjects..._

"Yeah, we should." He grinned, looking a little more comfortable with the subject change. "I bet I can finish mine before you!" He challenged, smirking jokingly. I laughed, even though it was probably true. "You're on!" I said, accepting his challenge with a grin. I picked up my tools of choice, good ol' pencil and paper. He picked the same, and we both sat down at a table. "On the count of three..."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

With the three familiar words, I made the first marks on the paper with a smile, determined to win the good-natured race.

 **Yay, 2,500+ words on this one! I'm going to try and write a little more each chapter until they're a length I feel comfortable with. Also, I forgot to mention last chapter, but a lot of the last names will probably be either references, puns, or rearrangements of words to do with the game. Like... Lucas Rethom. And Ninten Itoi. Stuff like that, should be fairly obvious... Anyways, I hope you like the introductions to Ninten and Kumatora! Salsa may be in the story here and there, too. I plan to introduce Ness somewhere in the next two chapters, and maybe Duster sometime after that. Also, while I find dialogue fun to write, I feel like I need a few tips on it, so that would be appreciated! owo Anyways, I think that's all I wanted to say for now. So... Bye! Don't forget, reviews, favorites, follows, and all of that are appreciated! Especially reviews!**


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